Birthstone September: Sapphire
The birthstone for September is the Sapphire. Now, sapphires come in all the colors of the rainbow but blue is the color most commonly associated with this birthstone. Intense rich velvety blue is the most sought after color for blue sapphires. In addition to the color, the country of origin as well the lack of enhancements also helps determine the value of these precious gemstones. The most highly prized sapphires come from the Kashmir, Burma and Ceylon (today Sri Lanka) regions in that order. The sapphire has been a prized gemstone since 800BC!
Where do they come from: Australia, Africa, Burma, Cambodia, Kashmir, Sri Lanka and even Montana just to name a few.
Name: The name sapphire comes from the latin word “saphirus” and the Greek word “sapheiros”, both words meaning “blue”.
Legends: The ancient Persians believed that the reason the sky was blue was the refection of blue sapphires. There is also some ancient lore that states that the Ten Commandments were written into sapphire. Ancient kings wore the sapphire because they believed it protected them from harm. And, there is actually a legend that states that if you placed a snake into a vessel along with a sapphire that the light rays from the stone would kill the snake.
Hardness: Sapphire are a 9 on the Mohr hardness scale.
Item: The sapphire necklace shown features four blue sapphire that are surrounded by diamonds.
See more sapphire jewelry at JRDunn.com!
[tag-tec]Sapphire[/tag-tec], [tag-tec]Birthstone[/tag-tec], [tag-tec]Septemeber[/tag-tec]
